USS Fitzgerald: Sailors Killed in Collision off Japan's Coast Named

The US Navy has identified seven sailors who were killed when theirdestroyer collided with a container ship in Japanese waters on Saturday.

The sailors were found in flooded berths onboard the USS Fitzgerald, said astatement by the US Navy.At least three others were injured in the collision which took place nearthe port city of Yokosuka.

Many of Fitzgerald's Crew members were asleep when the incident happened.The US Navy said it is Investigating.

The warship has since been towed tothe US naval base in Yokosuka.He said the vessel could have sunk were it not for "heroic efforts" by crewmembers, which prevented the flooding from "catastrophically spreading" toother parts of the warship.

Marine traffic records suggest that the container ship, theFilipino-flagged ACX Crystal, made a sudden U-turn roughly 25 minutesbefore the crash. It is not known why it changed course.

Similar records for the USS Fitzgerald are not publicly available.According to maritime rules, vessels are supposed to give way to ships ontheir starboard side which are where the damage to the destroyer is -sparking questions over whether the US ship could have been at fault.